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Are Investors Undervaluing Cardinal Health (CAH) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is Cardinal Health (CAH - Free Report) . CAH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 13.66 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 18.27. Over the past year, CAH's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.81 and as low as 8.54, with a median of 10.65.

We also note that CAH holds a PEG ratio of 1.17. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. CAH's industry currently sports an average PEG of 1.73. CAH's PEG has been as high as 8.89 and as low as 1.17, with a median of 2, all within the past year.

Another great Medical - Dental Supplies stock you could consider is Laboratory Corp. of America (LH - Free Report) , which is a # 1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Value Score of A.

Laboratory Corp. of America is trading at a forward earnings multiple of 13.74 at the moment, with a PEG ratio of 1.34. This compares to its industry's average P/E of 18.27 and average PEG ratio of 1.73.

LH's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 16.20 and as low as 10.52, with a median of 13.16, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 1.53 and as low as 1, with a median of 1.40, all within the past year.

Laboratory Corp. of America also has a P/B ratio of 2.13 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 6.28. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 2.72, as low as 1.84, with a median of 2.16.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Cardinal Health and Laboratory Corp. of America's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that CAH and LH is an impressive value stock right now.


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